August 30, 2012 11:24pm EDTAugust 30, 2012 10:56pm EDTNo one in Detroit is happy with the Tigers' season so far—least of all, Jim Leyland. Yet even with all their flaws, it's too soon to count the Tigers out. After all, they were in a similar spot last year ... before surging into the playoffs.

KANSAS CITY—Feel free to call the Tigers another off-season spending spree gone wrong. Go on and say that manager Jim Leyland doesn’t deserve a new contract. Rip on general manager Dave Dombrowski for assembling a defense with the approximate range of your kitchen sink.

The way the Tigers have plodded through 130 games, they don’t deserve much better. They were supposed to rule the A.L. Central but have spent only four days in first place since late April.

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With the division-leading White Sox dropping three of four this week at Baltimore, the Tigers could have assumed control of the division in this weekend’s showdown series at Comerica Park. Instead, they were swept by the lowly Royals and head home three games back, knowing there will be no September cruise to the playoffs like in 2011.

“We just have not played as well as last year,” Leyland says.

“I don’t want to say disappointing,” adds ace Justin Verlander, though he was unable to come up with a more apt description. “We just haven’t played consistently well. A lot of ups and downs.”

Their weaknesses haven’t started at the top. Verlander says he has pitched “pretty darn close” to as well as last year when he won the MVP and Cy Young, and the numbers back his claim. He’s top three in A.L. ERA (2.80), opponents’ batting average (.214) and innings (196 1/3) and leads in strikeouts (198). Miguel Cabrera and the off-season’s $214 million acquisition, first baseman Prince Fielder, have formed the most dynamic 3-4 duo in the game. Both rank top five in A.L. in OPS, OBP and RBIs. The Tigers also have watched center fielder Austin Jackson blossom into an All-Star, with a 60-point rise in his batting average, to .309, to go with more walks and fewer strikeouts.

But subtle weaknesses still are weaknesses, and the Tigers have their share. The bottom half of the order has not produced like last year when Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta both hit in the high-.290s and drove in 80-plus runs. This year, they’re hitting in the .250s and have driven in 90 runs combined. Detroit’s defense has been lacking, as was expected, with the Tigers giving up the second-most unearned runs in the A.L. The bullpen struggled early and still is seeking a reliable lefty.

This isn’t to say the Tigers should start making vacation plans for October. Even with their under-achievements, they’re in the thick of the A.L. Central and wild-card races. And get this: Detroit’s 69-61 record is just two games off their mark at the same point a year ago. Last year, however, that was good enough for a 5.5-game lead entering September.

More significantly, this was the very time the Tigers took off. A 2-0 victory at Tampa Bay in Game 130 began a 17-3 tear that included a 12-game winning streak and concluded with a 13.5-game lead in the Central.

Despite the letdown in Kansas City, the Tigers have shown enough signs lately that some kind of surge is within their reach. The return of Andy Dirks and a strong streak by Delmon Young have lengthened the lineup. Both are hitting better than .300 in August, which is key since Dirks hits in front of Cabrera and Young provides Fielder’s protection in the five-spot.

The trade with the Marlins for Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez is paying dividends. Infante is hitting close to .300 in the eight-hole and, says Dombrowski, “has plugged a big hole at second base.” Sanchez, the No. 4 starter, appears to have settled in with his new club and has made back-to-back strong starts.

Then there’s right-hander Max Scherzer, on perhaps the best roll of his career. He has won four straight starts while allowing a total of four runs and is battling Verlander for the A.L. lead in strikeouts. With Scherzer stepping up, Verlander says, “I don’t think you’re going to see anybody with better stuff as a 1-2.” Verlander points out that would bode well for the post-season but, of course, “We have to get there first.”

Time hasn’t turned against them yet, and a September schedule that includes two series each against the Indians, Twins and Royals—a team the Tigers have dominated until this week—helps their chances.

“We still have the capability of having a really good season,” Dombrowski says. “And we still could have a not-so-good season.”

Get hot or flop? The way the Tigers played last September, I know which way I’m leaning.